THE SYDNEY MARKET - 2017 QTR 4

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The question on everyone's lips is whether the Sydney property price boom is coming to an end. The short answer is “yes, it most likely is”. That’s not to say that prices aren’t continuing to rise – they are – and it certainly doesn’t imply that prices are likely to decrease.

The end of the boom simply means that peak growth is behind us, and that the current growth cycle, which started in 2012, is slowing.

According to CoreLogic, Sydney property values have increased by about 75% in the last 5 years. The market has changed fundamentally in a very short period of time. What has the boom meant in practical terms, and how have our local suburbs performed?

The graphs on the next page show how each local suburb has performed over the last 5 years. The first graph shows the % growth in median $ house prices since July 2012, and the next graph shows how current median $ house prices compare to what they were in July 2012.

So, what does 96% growth in Lindfield mean? If you were looking for a standard 4 bedroom house a few years ago, you would have needed to spend about $1.35m. If you were to start looking for the same standard of house today, you’d need to budget $2.65m (that’s $1.3m more in just 5 years).

Looking for a 3 bedroom house in Willoughby? You’d need to budget about $2.245m today, compared to $1.227m in 2012. After a 5 bedroom house in Killara? Expect to spend $2.724m today, compared to $1.6m in 2012.

Anyone buying a house in Ku-ring-gai, Artarmon, Chatswood or Willoughby would need about $1.0m more today than they would have 5 years ago. Buyers' budgets and expectations have come a long way in just a few years!

Our area has been amongst the top performing in all of Sydney.

With a median $ house price of over $2.23m, Ku-ring-gai ranks as one of the most desirable areas to live in all of Sydney. We’ve compared the 20 suburbs in our area to the 650+ across Sydney: 17 of them rank in the top 20% for median $ house price, and 6 of them rank in the top 20% for growth over the last 5 years.

Our area attracts highly educated, successful professionals and affluent families, and given recent housing trends, this will most certainly continue. In our next instalment, we’ll take a closer look at the demographics and socio-economics that make our neighbourhoods unique.